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“ Teck did a lot of geophysics,
REGIONAL ROUNDUP

geochemistry, mapping and
drilling in its two years there and we
have all of that; both the hard stuff
and the digital data. We have started
merging all of that with our own data
and we are finding already that the

combination is generating good targets.

Azure has its precious Alacran backzure has its precious Alacran back
A

fter a two-year porphyry hunt failed to chemistry, mapping and drilling in its two and mining development activity before
Adeliver, the Alacran silver-gold project years there and we have all of that; both Teck came back in but that was two
in northern Mexico is back in the hands the hard stuff and the digital data,” Rovira years ago so we first need to refresh our
of Azure Minerals Ltd and the Australian said. “We have started merging all of that exploration and corporate memory, talk
junior is ready to pick up exactly where it with our own data and we are finding al- to the consultants and labs about what
left off. ready that the combination is generating we were doing and then decide where to
Azure enjoyed rapid success at good targets.” go next.”
Alacran after acquiring the project from An example of the opportunities lying The return to precious metals at
Teck Resources Ltd in 2014, defining in wait came in October when Azure an- Alacran has proven timely for Azure
high-grade resources on two epithermal nounced results from sampling of dumps given silver and gold’s recent price runs.
deposits. Progress was so impressive associated with five historical mine work- Rovira said investors had endorsed the
Teck activated a clawback option and re- ings in the south-east of the project area. move, offering strong support to a recent
took control of Alacran in 2016, changing All 21 samples collected returned high- $4 million capital raising.
the exploration focus to copper porphyry grade precious and base metals with “The market showed us clearly that
deposits. maximum values of 675 g/t silver, 24.1 g/t the silver-gold assets should be our No.1
However, after a fruitless two-year gold, 2.3% copper, 33.5% lead and 21% priority because of the spot prices had
search, Teck was prepared to exit and zinc. Ten of the samples returned values gone up while zinc and lead had gone
Azure managing director Tony Rovira of more than 1,000 g/t silver while 17 re- down slightly. So, the capital raising was
moved quickly to claw back the claw- turned plus-1 g/t gold. specifically for exploration at Alacran,” he
back. Rovira said the results highlighted the said.
“Our discovery of the epithermal de- extensive opportunities still on offer at The shift in sentiment towards pre-
posits sparked Teck to move back in Alacran. cious metals has meant the company
looking for big porphyry deposits,” Ro- “These samples were taken from is now considering parking its Opo-
vira told Paydirt. “Those porphyry tar- dumps around the old workings,” he said. sura zinc-lead project, also in Sonora.
gets never stacked up like they hoped. “Teck had mapped the workings but be- In September, Azure announced that it
We saw an opportunity to move back in cause their focus was on porphyries had completed a two-month small-scale
and approached them and asked if they they weren’t really interested in sampling mining campaign at Oposura, extract-
wanted to sell it back.” them.” ing 6,100t @ 13.4% zinc and 10.7% lead
Teck agreed, taking 27.5 million shares Even Azure is yet to fully understand from a starter pit.
or 19.9% of Azure in return. Back in con- the regional potential at Alacran. “That mining campaign delivered
trol, Azure immediately switched the ex- “We made the two discoveries – Loma more tonnes and at better grades than
ploration focus around at Alacran. Bonita and Mesa del Plata – very early we expected,” Rovira said. “The cam-
“Our exploration strategy is focused on in our work and then Teck came in so we paign proved the geology and the min-
high-grade, near-surface deposits with never did a lot of regional exploration.” ing worked, now we need to process that
simple geology, simple metallurgy and Rovira said Azure would adopt a three- material and see what quality of concen-
simple mining,” Rovira said. “A project pronged approach to Alacran; resource trate we can produce and whether we
with all of that is capable of being ex- expansion at the existing Loma Bonita can get good offtake terms for it. If we
ploited by a company of our size rather and Mesa del Plata orebodies, regional can do all that, we would look at under-
than the big capital requirements and exploration based on targets generated taking small-scale mining campaigns on
timeframes of a large porphyry system.” through the Teck database and its own a regular basis.
Teck spent $US7.5 million in its two field work and the restart of mining and “It is only 1.5% of the orebody so it is
years testing porphyry targets but the development studies on the known de- not like we are depleting the resource
geological relationship between low- posits. and if it is making cash and proving our
grade, large tonnage porphyries and While he is keen to dive straight back concepts it will allow us to fund explora-
high-grade, smaller-tonnage epithermal into advanced activities, Rovira is con- tion and development at both Oposura
deposits means the Canadian major’s scious of the need to brush up on Alacran and Alacran.”
work will not go to waste. after a two-year absence.
“Teck did a lot of geophysics, geo- “We were drilling, doing met test work – Dominic Piper

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